Chapter Fifty-two: A Turn for the Better

  Zhen'er had originally planned to bid farewell to Ye Lao at the ancestral hall, but he asked her to return first and wait for him to come back and talk about it later. Zhen'er saw that the sky was getting late, so she agreed and followed Hu Zi and Ye Baiji back to the Ye family home.

  It was too chaotic just now, and Qizhen'er didn't see Ye Baiji until everything had subsided. When she came out, she found Ye Baiji hiding in a corner of the wall outside the ancestral hall, carefully watching over those worthless quilts that belonged to Qizhen'er. Her body had been trampled on several times, but Qizhen'er's things hadn't been damaged at all. Looking at this, Qizhen'er felt extremely moved.

  "Zhen Er, you're really clever, even the ink can be divided. And broke through Ma Zi's gang's scam." Along the way, Ye Bai Ju kept chattering and praising Zhen Er nonstop.

  Qī Zhēn'er listened and smiled, but didn't respond. Today's incident has given her a lot to worry about; not only does she need to worry about where to settle down, but also worry that the thugs will come looking for trouble with her.

  "Hey, Zhen'er, when did you become good friends with the county magistrate's daughter? I didn't know that!" Ye Baiji asked curiously.

  Qī Zhēn'er smiled wryly and, seeing that there was no one around, whispered to Yè Bái zhǐ's ear: "I don't know any daughter of a county magistrate, she just liked the wild fruits I sold, so her maid came to buy them twice."

  Ye Baiji listened with a straight face, "You still dare to mention her name like this? If she knew, wouldn't she blame you? And that Ma Zi, he's not a good guy either. I heard my uncle say he's a usurer who lends money at exorbitant interest rates and is ruthless in his dealings."

  "So, don't mention this to anyone else. They probably won't find out about these things so soon. As long as I'm careful, it should be fine."

  Ye Baiji nodded, and now it can only be like this. She always thought that Zhen'er was a decisive and brave person, but today she dared to rush into the ancestral hall and cleverly broke through the deception, which shocked her again.

  The ancestral hall, all the women were driven away, and the adult men of the Ye family in the village gathered inside. Although the ancestral hall was smashed to pieces, it still restored its solemnity as before, which was quite intimidating.

  "That's why I asked you to stay behind, there are some family matters that need to be discussed." After clearing his throat, he continued: "Just now, when our clansmen were in trouble, no matter how much money was spent, it was all done with the best of intentions. And by standing together to protect the ancestral hall, you have upheld the teachings of our ancestors, you are all good sons of the Ye family!"

  Uncle's words were fair and stern, with a tone of praise that made everyone excited and proud.

  When it came to this, the uncle looked at the clan leader and saw that he was disheartened and shrinking in his chair, staring blankly at the table where the silver had just been placed. It seemed as if he didn't care about these things anymore. He let out a faint sigh in his heart. This old brother is getting old and muddled, not thinking of doing something to regain his reputation, but instead indulging in these worldly possessions. No wonder their family is getting more and more chaotic.

  He slightly shook his head, let out a sigh, and said, "I know you're all good men. I'll thank you on behalf of my older brother." With that, he bowed, and the crowd dispersed.

  Fortunately, the son of the clan head was still a sensible person. Seeing his uncle like this, he naturally knew that he was making arrangements for his own family and hurriedly followed with a bow.

  "Uncle, it's not that we don't care about relationships, but this time the person who doesn't know what's good for them must be severely punished! What kind of place is an ancestral hall, and yet people can take things from there to gamble?" The one speaking was still the square-faced serious-looking man who had just spoken at the door.

  Everyone echoed in agreement, "That's right, if it wasn't for that little girl who knew how to distinguish between ink and blood, whom Third Uncle had rescued, our ancestral hall would definitely not have been preserved."

  "If this matter is not severely punished, others will definitely look down on us, the Ye family."

  "If someone had learned from his example, how could this temple have been preserved?"

  For a time, the ancestral hall was filled with all sorts of discussions, but they all boiled down to one thing: severely punishing Ye Quan, the ringleader.

  The uncle glanced at the clan head and saw that he had a slight movement when he heard the word "severe punishment", but then returned to his silent expression.

  The uncle and several other elderly people in the village discussed it for a while and have already come up with some initial results.

  "After our discussion and unanimous decision, Ye Quan disregarded the ancestral rules and used the ancestral hall as his own property to mortgage for gambling, destroying the Ye family's reputation and bringing calamity to the Ye family. He is hereby expelled from the Ye family tree and will have no further connection with the Ye family members starting from today."

  Upon hearing this decision, although everyone felt some sympathy for Ye Quan in their hearts, they also thought that this was his own doing and considered it the best decision.

  Ye Quan's father was shocked when he heard the news, knowing that his son had gotten into big trouble. He thought it would be a family punishment, being beaten with a few sticks, but this punishment of being removed from the family register was too severe. Looking at his elderly father, who was approaching old age, he wanted to let him speak on behalf of his son to mitigate the situation, but he shrank into his chair, looking haggard and aged, as if he had aged ten years after this incident, so how could he trouble him?

  Everyone had no opinion on this resolution, and the elders of the clan could put their minds at ease.

  "Regarding Qi Zhener and her brother, we just discussed it. Qi Zhener saved our Ye family from disaster with her kindness and intelligence, her character is noble and she's a kind person, so we all agree that they can continue to stay in Yushu Village. Now, let's hear your opinions?"

  Everyone below discussed in a low voice for a long time, and no one had a unified opinion. Uncle Gong looked at them without haste, this matter was raised by Old Master Ye, he didn't dare to promise casually, so he took the opportunity to ask, whether it could be done or not, he had done his best.

  "Uncle, letting them stay isn't impossible, but the name of this jinxed star is still somewhat frightening?" someone brought up their inner concerns.

  His uncle was also somewhat embarrassed, he was old and most believed in these ghostly sayings. Although rationally knowing that they should stay with their siblings, emotionally they always felt some aversion.

  Ye Lao Yezi thought that if he didn't come out and say something, it would be troublesome for Zhen Er to stay behind. "You say they are jinxes, but who have they jinxed? Who can see that they have a jinx in their fate?"

  Everyone looked at each other in dismay.

  Ye Lao Yezi continued: "No father no mother is a jinx, and there are many such people in our village. Fu Gui, when you were thirteen years old, your parents both passed away, are you a jinx?" Ye Lao Yezi asked pointing to a young man in front of him.

  Everyone looked at him, and the one called Fugui blushed and said: "My parents both died of illness, it has nothing to do with me. The villagers all know this, and no one says I'm a jinx."

  Ye Lao Yezi laughed, "You see, you understand wealth and nobility, and you also understand their family's affairs clearly, so you won't think he is a jinx. Actually, Zhen Er's sister and brother are similar to Wealthy's situation. Their mother had moved the fetal energy and gave birth prematurely, her body was weak and she died in childbirth. Women giving birth are originally dangerous, having an accident isn't strange, these things you all also know." The crowd listened and nodded, most of them already had children and knew the dangers of women giving birth.

  "As for their father, he died from overwork. Think about it, a father with a six-year-old girl and a child who lost his mother at birth, how could he not work to the death? This is the heart of parents loving their children, where is the calamity you spoke of?"

  Everyone was shamed by what Old Master Ye said.

  After a while, a man said: "Third Uncle, we understand what you're saying. But the women at home can be stubborn sometimes, and our elderly mothers might think that Zhen'er and her brother are jinxes, so they definitely won't treat them well."

  Everyone present echoed in agreement.

  Ye Lao Yezi pondered for a moment and said: "What if I find a high-ranking monk to change the fate of Zhen Er and her brother?"

  Everyone who heard it thought this method was good, so they didn't have to drive away Zhen'er and her brother, and they also had an explanation for the old mother at home.

  Everything has been discussed and decided, the elders let everyone disperse, they stayed behind to discuss follow-up matters.

  "The position of clan leader, if that old brother of mine were to sit in it again, would definitely be unsuitable. We need to recommend someone else." said Uncle Gong.

  Others also think so in their hearts, the patriarch's actions today are too unscrupulous, and their family is also a bit messy. Originally, the position of the patriarch could be passed on to his son, so that everyone wouldn't have to worry, but the patriarch's daughter-in-law is the most unclear-headed person, if she became the matriarch, it would be a disaster for the entire Ye family.

  After discussing for a long time, everyone unanimously felt that it was most suitable for Ye Lao to be the head of the clan. He had a high generation rank and was fair-minded, with good medical skills, and the villagers all respected him, so having him as the head of the clan would be the most appropriate.

  Ye Lao Yezi declined, "I'm old and can't take on the role of family head. There's no one in charge at home, some things are not easy to get involved with. Besides, don't forget that my family has a good-for-nothing."

  After hearing this, they also felt that Old Ye was not suitable. Some things in the family need to be handled by the daughter-in-law, and Old Ye being alone made it difficult to handle. Moreover, his third son was a good gambler, if another incident like today's happened, the Ye family's vitality would really be hurt.

  After discussing for half a day, no suitable candidate was found. As the sky grew dark, everyone prepared to continue the discussion next time. Today's commotion has left us all somewhat exhausted.

  "Hey little brother, wait a minute, I have something to ask you." As soon as they stepped out of the ancestral hall, Ye old man stopped the village chief.

  The villager turned around and looked at him, saying: "What's up? Old big brother."

  Ye Lao also didn't beat around the bush and directly said: "Everyone in the village agreed to let Zhen Er's siblings stay, can you help them get a household registration?"

  The village chief was taken aback, "Old brother, you're making things difficult for me. Zhen'er and her brother don't have any household registration documents, how can I register them?"

  "I heard that the Lingqu Canal is going to be rebuilt, and many people from various villages are moving over here. The imperial court has also issued an order to register them as households. Several households from our village have also moved over. When you report, just put Zhen'er's siblings in between and it'll be fine."

  "What's this?" The village was shocked, "Old brother, isn't this deceiving the imperial court? If it's found out, that would be a serious crime."

  Old Ye said, "This is no big deal. I've asked around and many nearby villages have used this method to register people without household registration. If they can do it, why can't we? The law doesn't blame the masses, after all. Besides, Zhen'er's siblings are so young, who would care about them?"

  The village head thought for a moment and also felt that this thing was feasible. "Old brother, I'm risking my life to do this for you."

  Old Ye patted his shoulder, "Good brother, your elder brother remembers, in the future if you have any matters just look for me, as long as I can do it I will not decline."

  The village head left with a smile, but muttered to himself: "I don't know what kind of relationship you have with Qizhen and her brother, why are you so concerned about them."

  Ye Lao Yezi smiled and didn't say a word. **** Said it was a thunderstorm, and indeed it was a thunderstorm. The weather forecast is accurate when it shouldn't be, and inaccurate when it should be...